import tax duty fees VAT?

k10spades

I know this might not be in the right place but i need a quick answer to buy of ebay.

I want to buy a pda from america. It will cost around £150. When it gets to this country what tax etc will i have to pay and what is it likely to be??

does it matter if the item is new or used???

cheers

shrek101

Try Ebay forums, You know its the wrong forum.

waterstar

Firstly whether duty/vat is charged depends on whether it is stopped by the courier company/royal mail (acting as agents for Customs).

In turn that depends on what is put on the Customs Decleration form, although random checks can be conducted, with presumably penalties for disclosing wrong information etc?

Assuming correct information is on the package and it is stopped for customs clearance then charges consist of

1) a duty percentage which I think is about 6% on the products you are describing on the cost, including the shipping cost;

2) VAT on the total cost and the Duty

3) a collection fee of typically about £10.

Items 1) and 2) above will come to approximately 25% of the total cost. And also expect the courier/royal mail to give you a "poor-ish" exchange rate in calculating the sterling "total cost" thereby increasing the cost of duty and VAT.

So rough rule of thumb is 25% plus £10 as costs of bringing the product into the UK.

JABWootton

If you get the sender to do the following you may not have to pay any charges whatsoever.

Send the Item as a Gift with a note attached saying something like "Happy Birthday, Hope you have a Great Time"

Get the Invoice and any other Paperwork sent seperatly from the Item.

I get loads of items from USA off EBay (Exchange rate of Dollar) and always use this technique to avoid any charges.

redfox

I know this might not be in the right place but i need a quick answer to buy of ebay.

it's not the right place >:(

just needing a quick answer isn't really a reason to clutter up this forum with totally non relevant posts

Benji

If you get the sender to do the following you may not have to pay any charges whatsoever.

Send the Item as a Gift with a note attached saying something like "Happy Birthday, Hope you have a Great Time"

Get the Invoice and any other Paperwork sent seperatly from the Item.

I get loads of items from USA off EBay (Exchange rate of Dollar) and always use this technique to avoid any charges.

Might well work - but is illegal

Trow

It is illegal and it isn't infallible as gifts over the value of £38 can also be subject to charges.

Hintza

I would expect you to pay 17.5% VAT plus £4 collection fee if it is sent by Post.

If it is sent by courier they will charge you for everything.  Import Duty, VAT and a big collection fee somewhere in the region of £10-£15.

My advise would be send it by post insured.

As to the guy who suggests getting sent as a gift that is fine until they are on to you.

I am very careful about how much I pay and was buying goods in the Far East but sticking below the £18 threshold even splitting items as P+P was cheaper than the VAT.   For about a month Customs stopped everything but I was able to produce the relevant paperwork and all is hunky dory again.  

One other thing I bought a pram for the baby in the US which cost $100 to post.  The dumb seller added postage to the invoice and I got charged VAT on an extra $100.........ouch.

So if you buy in the USA and its over £18 add vat plus £4 for a small item or about £12 for a large one to your purchase price to compare prices more easily.

cheapaschips001

have just received something from the states of ebay and the charges are as follows,

1 X sports package value $120

import duty £1.74
import VAT £11.62
consignia clearance fee £4.00

Total £17.36


hope this helps

cheapaschips001

COS

My Camera costing just under £300.00 had Toy on the discription No charges were applied.

Quinny_2

I have just received some air filters for my race car from the USA,and didn't pay any duty,because the invoice was sent seperately,and the box marked as gifts.

Ken.